


Piercing Blade

by Liza_Taylor



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dragon Byleth, F/M, Mercy Killing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-02-01 06:57:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21427783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza_Taylor/pseuds/Liza_Taylor
Summary: Nemesis has been defeated but Those Who Slither had another plan up their sleeve and Claude had to make a choice to protect everyone...ClaudeXf!Byleth. One-shot of Byleth being forced to turn into a dragon and Claude needing to be the one to end it.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 98





	Piercing Blade

**Author's Note:**

> Another quick one-shot idea I had that I just had to write. It's funny how the more I like a ship, the more I like to write sad things for them. lol

Claude sucked in a deep breath and pointed a red tipped arrow from Failnaught at the giant dragon. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as his friends harried the dragon, their Relics cutting into her flesh, her screams of pain stabbing every corner of Claude’s being.

The green eyes looked at him and Claude gritted his teeth and fired the arrow, piercing her in the lip. Her head reeled back, and she flapped her wings and took to the air. Claude commanded his wyvern out of the way the wind from her wings making the air incredibly turbulent.

Her wounds were terrible, the blood free flowing as she flew towards the forest, her flight pattern incredibly erratic. He had seen many wounded animals in his time in Alymra and it was obvious it wouldn’t be long now.

“I’ll handle her!” he called down to Hilda and the others before flying after her. He knew there would be a scolding later, but Hilda would do her job and make sure no one followed. His second in command was loyal like that.

He saw the dragon was descending, her wings too damage to keep her flying anymore. He quickly took his wyvern down as she crested the tree line and he could see her body was getting smaller, the dragon form quickly shifting to something else.

“Come on,” he murmured. His wyvern cried out as he forced the beast through the trees and he sent a silent prayer of apology.

He barely made it under her in time as Byleth shifted back from her dragon form into her human one and began free-falling. The force of him catching her pushed them downwards but thankfully the wyvern was able to stabilize enough so they were able to land on the ground without issue.

Byleth clutched her chest, her breathe coming out in horrible wheezes. The arrows had not stayed in her when she shifted form, her body covered in bruises, a faint trace of the injuries she had sustained in her dragon form.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Claude. “I’m sorry Teach.”

Nemesis had been defeated. They had thought it was over, the war was over and now it was time to bring in a time of peace. And then Those Who Slither In The Dark had pulled out something from their lab. A device of some kind that reacted to the crest stone in Byleth’s body. She had fought against it as hard as she could but to no avail. Her body had reacted against her will, transforming her into a dragon that rampaged around the area. They had no choice but to fight her with everything they had.

“It…it’s okay Claude,” she managed to get out. Her eyes were unfocused, but she looked at the general direction of his face. A shaky hand reached up to cup his cheek. He could feel the stickiness of blood but he didn’t care about getting that out of his beard later.

He clutched her hand tightly. “Marianne will be here soon. You’ll be okay.”

She smiled. “Even I can tell you’re lying.” She let out a sharp gasp of pain, her hands clutching her chest. Her pupils dilated, turning into slits, her fingernails growing longer and sharper. “Claude…please. I don’t know how long I can still be myself. I think I heal when I shift forms. If I go back into the dragon form again…I don’t want to…please Claude.”

He gritted his teeth, aware of what she was asking of him. “You always give the hard tasks to me don’t you?” None of his usual humor or sass filled his words.

“I’m sorry it had to be you.” She spasmed in his arms and a low growl released in her throat. The faint trace of scales were starting to coat her skin. She managed to pull her dagger from its sheath and held it up to him. Tears were flowing from her now dragon eyes. “Please…while I’m still me.”

He took the dagger from her and held it over her chest. The only sound in the forest was her wheezing breathes as she struggled to hold the dragon back.

He bent down and kissed her as he plunged the knife into her chest. It was only a second. One moment she was there and the next, her body went limp in his hands. He didn’t know how tense she had been in order to keep the dragon back.

He pulled the knife out of her chest before hugging her tightly, wishing it didn’t have to end like this.

***

It was said that Alymra and Fodlan went through an age of prosper after the mysterious green-scaled dragon was defeated. The leader of the nation, Claude, ruled the countries fairly. However, it was said that his demeanor was different after the war. His smiles were always false and tinged with sadness.

On a certain day of the year he would retreat to a forest in Fodlan and spend a day among the trees. Some say he was going back to his childhood roots while others say he was visiting the unmarked grave that was found under a large flowering tree. After the day, when he returned to the castle, everyone noticed his eyes would be red and puffy, but he would not say anything, and no one would acknowledge it.

Claude never married, he said that his heart was taken, and he could not betray her for another. Many wondered who the mysterious woman that captured the charismatic ruler’s heart, but he would not say, and those who were close to him took the secret to their graves. Instead he adopted a few children and raised them as his own, teaching them how to rule by relying on their own strength and knowledge instead of on a crest.

The only time Claude was said to show a genuine smile was on his deathbed. He looked up at the ceiling, his children and grandchildren around him. “Sorry I kept you waiting Teach. Five years is nothing compared to this,” he was heard saying before his eyes closed and he passed on to whatever was beyond.


End file.
